Sport

Marquez takes Moto2 win in thrilling fashion

April 09, 2012 | 12:00 AM

Agencies/Doha

TASTE OF SUCCESS: Suter Moto2 rider Marc Marquez of Spain kisses the trophy after winning the Moto2 race at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit. Also seen is QMMF president Nasser bin Khalifa al-Attiyah. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil

Marc Marquez made the phrase “in the blink of an eye” look pathetically outdated as he won the Moto2 event at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar in thrilling fashion last night at Losail.The Spaniard (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) beat Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) by one six hundredths of a second as the intermediate class put on an absorbing 20-lap encounter.Following a race-long battle for the lead which involved up to seven riders at one point, Marquez and Iannone came out of the last corner on the final lap neck-and-neck, with the Spaniard winning out in the sprint for the chequered flag by the slimmest of margins. After being enveloped in a tight group of riders scrapping for first position, the two eventually finished over a second clear of the remainder of the chasing pack.Completing the podium after being involved in the fight for victory for the most part Pol Espargaró (Pons 40 HP Tuenti), who at one stage had led, crossed in third after spending the closing stages of the race locked in combat with his team-mate Esteve Rabat who finished fourth.Crossing the finish line in fifth position was Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock), who had started from pole position and who spent the entire race in the leading group. The Swiss rider’s challenge for victory ended going into the final lap however, when he ran wide at Turn 1 as he and Márquez went head-to-head.Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) rode a strong final few laps to take sixth position from 13th on the starting grid, and he finished just 0.026s ahead Frenchman Mike di Meglio (S/Master Speed Up). Simone Corsi (Came Iodaracing Project) had played his part in the show at the front during the race and eventually ended eighth, with Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) completing the top 10.

ALL SMILES: Avintia Racing Moto3 rider Maverick Vinales of Spain raises the trophy after winning the Moto3 race at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit

Riders also leaving Round 1 with points on the board included Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland), Moto2 rookie Johann Zarco (JiR Moto2), returning 2010 Champion Toni Elías (Mapfre Aspar Team), Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team) and Julián Simón (Blusens Avintia), who all finished inside the top 15.Alex de Angelis (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) had been involved in the battle for points but crashed out with two laps remaining, and British rookie Gino Rea (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) ended his debut GP in 26th position.Earlier, 17-year-old Maverick Vinales of Blusens Avintia made history by winning the first race in the newly-introduced Moto3 class. The Spaniard, who won the last two 125cc races of the two-stroke machine era and was the Rookie of the Year in 2011, was followed across the line by debutant Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI) who scored a podium in his first ever Grand Prix start.The young Italian led the race for the opening six laps before Vinales overtook him, and the pair traded places again before the more experienced Vinales – now the second-youngest rider in history to have won three successive Grands Prix – pulled away to win by a margin of 4.3 seconds. The displays of Vinales and 16 year-old Fenati were hugely impressive, and as the pair rode out front for the majority of the 18-lap race a thrilling battle for the third and final podium position raged behind.In the end it was pole position starter Sandro Cortese (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who prevailed after an intense five-way fight with, in order of their final race positions, Luis Salom (RW Racing GP), Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0’0), Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Airasia-SIC-Ajo) and rookie Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Each of the four and Cortese had looked like taking third in an open race, before the German managed his drive out of the last corner on the final lap perfectly to beat Salom.Completing the top 10 were British rider Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Frenchman Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany) and another rookie, Spanish prospect Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0’0).It was a special evening for new talent on the World Championship stage as Alan Techer (Technomag-CIP-TSR) registered points on his GP debut by taking 11th, with Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar Team), Niklas Ajo (TT Motion Events Racing), Alberto Moncayo (Bankia Aspar Team) and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta) also scoring as they completed the top 15 riders across the finish line.British rider Danny Webb on the Mahindra Racing machine ended the race in 18th place after starting from 25th on the grid.

April 09, 2012 | 12:00 AM